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October 20, 2008

Apple MacBook review

Product Code: MB466B/A

We review the new Apple MacBook, the talk of the town that's sporting a new body crafted from a solid ingot of aluminium

Build quality and engineering of Apple's new MacBook redefines the state of the art in modern laptop computers, yet Apple has made some divisive decisions in its innovative redesign that may have some buyers hesitating as they reach for their wallets.

With the new range unveiled this week, Apple has kept the distinction between two separate ranges, as it did since before the Mac moved to Intel processors in 2006. Only now, that boundary between consumer and professional has become blurred somewhat, at least as far as the exterior design is concerned. Prior to the processor migration, there was the iBook G4 aimed at home users and PowerBook G4 for professionals. Post-Intel, the names became MacBook and MacBook Pro, but held similar price points and feature lists.

Now earning the name of MacBook are three different machines: a remix of the outgoing plastic-bodied MacBook with a slightly faster processor, and the all-new ‘unibody' MacBook, differentiated primarily by processor speeds of either 2GHz or 2.4GHz.

Unibody is how Apple describes the new case, hewn from a solid block of aluminium. This not only gives it great strength and durability against knocks, but a seamless integrity that makes traditional laptop construction look decidedly untidy in comparison.

Lift the round-edge screen and you find a clean top deck unmolested by random buttons or switches. There are no visible catches or speaker grilles, and sound now appears mysteriously through the keyboard and from the hidden cooling vent under the drop-down hinge. Even the built-in mic is barely visible, concealed behind tiny microperforations in the solid body just above the Escape key.

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Total reviews: 4,313

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See product specs

expert rating

Build quality

4.5/5

Features

3.5/5

Value for money

3.5/5

Overall

4/5

expert rating

Apple MacBook late 2008 model

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